Definitely worthy of a road trip. To be honest the climbs ridden on my trip are equal to or actually even better to the cols I've climbed in Europe!

It's not quite as contained as the French Alpes or Pyrenees though, so a road trip can involve a lot of driving if you want to include the best climbs. In my 3 week trip I ended up driving over 5,600km solo!

Had Mt Evans nearly to myself from Echo lake onward as the road was closed to vehicles due to landslides caused by flooding the day prior... Only car was a Ranger out checking on the mountain goats. Was quite eerie up there alone in the clouds!

Pikes Peak was the opposite experience being covered in tourists, which also meant lots of cars though traffic was respectful. Almost rock star status around the summit from the people being incredulous I could have ridden up the monster. Got asked to be in a number of photos!

For sure. I've spent quite a bit of time trekking the Himalaya at those kind of altitudes. I know that it's hard enough to walk let alone ride a bike.

You could make yourself very ill attempting that climb with proper preparation and acclimatisation. In fact even the start of the climb is high enough for many to feel the effects of altitude sickness .

For sure. I've spent quite a bit of time trekking the Himalaya at those kind of altitudes. I know that it's hard enough to walk let alone ride a bike.

You could make yourself very ill attempting that climb with proper preparation and acclimatisation. In fact even the start of the climb is high enough for many to feel the effects of altitude sickness .

The Himalaya is definitely on the bucket list. Very jealous!

Idaho Springs which is the starting point for Mt Evans is already 2294m above sea level! Average gradient isn't steep but pretty much all climbing from the start with 2000m vert over 46km... Highest paved road in North America!

dalai47 wrote:The Himalaya is definitely on the bucket list. Very jealous!

Don't leave it too long. Development is rapidly encroaching on many of the popular trekking areas. For example, road construction has reduced the famed Annapurna Trek to only 6 days of remote trekking.

Pikes Peak is an incredible climb, as is Mt Evans, with lack of traffic being great, but as others have said the traffic on Pikes was very respectful.

For me it was the last 300m vert where the altitude made itself known, especially with ~10% average. This was after weeks above 2000m altitude including several 3000m+ passes. I hope people taking part arrive with time to acclimatise, as even the early stages could cause problems.

I have staid in one of those. It was a Youth Hostel in Europe. ~350 beds ... I wandered up and down trying to find it .. must be big I thought .. so up I go looking for a building at that address... no ... I wander down looking ...no ... puzzled I take very close attention to the numbers ... it must be here .. but that is a park .. then I see it .. an underground entry with a small YHA sign ..in I go. There were less than 20 of us in 350 beds .. showers were hot and strong. Beds ... well you could chose a room for yourself. An interesting experience. Don't get lost inside.

I remember last year in Dolomites, some of the accommodations in Innsbruck were gymnasium floors with temporary beds, not the most enticing. The next level up accommodation was Ramada Tivoli - very nice indeed, where I was staying.

The express option can be sometimes better, you might avoid having a hotel or apartment that is 1.5-3.0km away from the village (for race start/end and briefings). You could also try AirBnB.

The briefings / after stage functions are at 6:30pm usually, so if you do dinner after that - then get back to the hotel at say 9pm, and a 7am rollout next morning, the closer the accommodation is the better.

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